Tesla and Mercedes-Benz have become the first foreign companies registered as providers of generative artificial intelligence services in China, official documents show.
Cyberspace authorities granted applications from the U.S. and German automakers to register their AI assistants.
Volvo Car also made the list. The Swedish automaker is majority-owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Tesla's and Volvo's AI services will be used to respond to customer service inquiries, according to the Shanghai cyberspace authorities.
Mercedes' AI will be installed in electric vehicles, enabling voice interaction, according to the Beijing cyberspace authorities. It will also be integrated into driver seat controls.
For its AI service, Mercedes is adopting a large language model developed by China's ByteDance, the technology company behind the TikTok video app.
China aims to accelerate the development of generative AI while maintaining control over the technology, seeing it as vital to national competitiveness.
Regulations governing generative AI services took effect in August 2023. All services approved until now were developed by Chinese companies.